Hannah Nightingale’s work aims to “question definitions of graphic design”

Hannah Nightingale studied graphic design at Central Saint Martins, and her clever use of typography and a minimal, mature approach to projects really stood out to us. Her work comes from a place of humour and wit, yet also explores more complex issues such as Japanese war legalisation. One of our favourite projects from Hannah was her neat and very clever exploration of internet culture in book form, which creates a tongue-in-cheek elevated documentation of online culture from grumpy cat to Rick-rolling, trolling, hacking and revenge porn.

Tim Bowditch: Hannah Nightingale

For Hannah, studying graphic design was an obvious choice. “I have always been interested in art and design. My mum used to be a fine artist and my dad is a graphic designer,” she says. “I’ve never been great at academic subjects and I find it easier to express things visually, even when I’m trying to remember something, I try and create a visual story around it. I guess I started out being interested in more commercially led graphic design as that is along the same lines as what my dad does, but as time went on, I discovered I’m much more interested in conceptual and experimental graphic design.”

Having switched from Brighton to Central Saint Martins, Hannah found her final year of the course to be the most enjoyable. “In second year I wasn’t really sure what kind of designer I wanted to be and what kind of work I wanted to create, so my projects were a bit all over the place,” she says. “In final year something really clicked. I realised where my interests really lay and I found my feet. I started to be more experimental and concentrate more on using design as a means of portraying social and political messages.

“One of the best bits of art school was the people I met. In my circle of friends, we are all very different in terms of our creative interests. Some are illustrators, some are more into branding, some are even interested in experimental music. We all bounce off each other really well and in a lot of ways inspired and helped each other with our work.”

Hannah’s interests lie in “pushing the boundaries of type and composition and questioning definitions of graphic design,” resulting in conceptual work that challenges her discipline. Now that she’s graduated, she’s hoping to find work in a small studio somewhere in London, but the eventual dream is to move to the Netherlands or “certain parts of Germany” to work in a studio out there.

While Hannah learnt a lot from her tutors – to “never stop experimenting” and to “push work its limits” – she also picked up a lot of valuable, if slightly baffling tips from her coursemates.

“The most valuable thing I learnt from my peers is all nighters are actually sometimes worth the pain,” she says, “Also that if you really believe you’re in a boy band, you can be in a boy band.”

Hannah Nightingale: Graphic Design

Hannah Nightingale: Graphic Design

Hannah Nightingale: Graphic Design

Hannah Nightingale: Graphic Design

Hannah Nightingale: Graphic Design

Hannah Nightingale: Graphic Design

Hannah Nightingale: Graphic Design

Hannah Nightingale: Graphic Design

Hannah Nightingale: Graphic Design

G . F Smith

It’s Nice That’s Graduates 2016 is kindly supported by G . F Smith, whose gorgeous range of papers and services can be just the thing for new and soon-to-be creative grads. The 130-year-old paper company has a long history of working with designers and artists at all stages of their careers, with its high-quality and innovative paper products offering a huge range of creative possibilities.

Since 2014, G . F Smith has been creating Make Books for projects and portfolios that need a bespoke touch. The hardback books are assembled by experts at the company’s headquarters in Hull and are a stunning example of the brand’s passion for photographic print. To get a deeper insight into the process and the possibilities, we asked some of our 2016 Grads to design and have printed their very own Make Books, all created in just seven days.

As a fresh-faced and eager young graduate, you’ll likely be looking for the best way to get your work out there and in front of as many eyes as possible. You’ve got a glittering portfolio, but do you need an agent too? We spoke to a bunch of creatives, and their opinions varied wildly.

A new crop of graduates are currently taking the first tentative steps in their career at the moment. This transition between the academic and working world is at once exciting and daunting, sometimes it can be easy to forget just what is important at this stage in your professional development. We spoke to a clutch of creatives to ask them to share advice and insight into the things they feel are key to remember at this time.

Unfortunately the thorny issue of working or pitching for free isn’t one that’s going anywhere anytime soon. And while we’re sure everyone would agree that you should get paid for work you do, are there some situations where just for the pure joy of creating, it’s OK to make something for nada? DesignStudio’s executive strategic creative director James Hurst thinks not: “If we agree that beer and drugs are free. Until then, get paid, it is expensive working.”

Maddy Mould is an illustrator with a passion for pattern and print. She has just completed her BA illustration degree at the University of Cumbria and has a portfolio that demonstrates a bold use of colour and enthusiastic experiments with how her style might be applied to different textiles. “After taking fine art at college I was told by my tutor that the work I was making was ‘too illustration-y’. I thought, fine, that’s what I’ll do then,” says Maddy. “I love illustration because it’s all about creating images to be used for everyday things; to go with newspaper articles, or on juice cartons or shopping bags or whatever. It brightens up mundane things and is everywhere.”
Her A5 zine Two Chinas catalogues the juxtapositions between the traditions of the nation and its acceleration to modernity with lively depictions of her experiences. Maddy’s four colour print Roman Menagerie draws inspiration from the Roman heritage of Carlisle and presents them in an impressionist style with a pop colour palette. “I love working with simple geometric shapes, and I’ve found that the majority of my work uses a particular colour palette,” says Maddy. “A lot of the time, my work begins with papercuts and I use this really lovely pack of sugar paper. I learned I work best like this and with these sort of grubby pastel tones. I scan in the papers and collage them digitally – this keeps the texture, something I like to think is visible in my work.”